MOCVD of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 on GaAs substrates for thin-film thermoelectric applications

Abstract

Metal organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) has been investigated for growth of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 films on (001) GaAs substrates using trimethylbismuth, triethylantimony and diisopropyltelluride as metal organic sources. The surface morphologies of Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 films were strongly dependent on the deposition temperatures as it varies from a step-flow growth mode to island coalescence structures depending on deposition temperature. In-plane carrier concentration and electrical Hall mobility were highly dependent on precursor ratio of VI/V and deposition temperature. By optimizing growth parameters, we could clearly observe an electrically intrinsic region of the carrier concentration over the 240 K in Bi2Te3 films. The high Seebeck coefficient (of -160 mu VK-1 for Bi2Te3 and +110 mu VK-1 for Sb2Te3 films, respectively) and good surface morphologies of these materials are promising for the fabrication of a few nm thick periodic Bi2Te3/Sb2Te3 super lattice structures for thin film thermoelectric device applications.